Collapsed contractor ‘fined’ £146k over worker death

A collapsed company has been sentenced for failing to keep its workers safe after a 48-year-old man was fatally crushed by a 20-tonne excavator.

Kidderminster-based Birch Brothers, which went into liquidation last year, had been building a concrete overflow weir structure at a pond in Derbyshire in 2017.

Philip McDonald was one of the workers hired to help construct the structure. According to a statement from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), while waiting on a road above the site for the excavator to remove sand from trench boxes, it swung round and crushed him.

HSE investigators found that Birch Brothers had not adequately planned the work and that no instructions had been given to the operator of the digger or the pedestrians on site. The contractor had also not adequately assessed the risks associated with the job and failed to segregate pedestrians from the plant.

On top of that, the contractor failed to appoint a banksman to ensure the pedestrians were safe while the excavator was being used, and failed to have anyone oversee the excavator to make sure its work was carried out safely, the watchdog said.

Birch Brothers (Kidderminster) Ltd of Barracks Road, Sandy Lane Industrial Estate, Stourport-on-Severn, DY13 9QB, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 27(1) of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015.

Kidderminster Magistrates Court fined it £146,000 and ordered it to pay costs of £4,621.90.

But the firm, which specialised in utility and water projects, appointed liquidators in September 2022. This means its fine will be registered as a claim from an unsecured creditor and is unlikely to be paid in full.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Katherine Cotton said the tragic incident was “easily preventable”.

“Those in control of work have a responsibility to organise their sites and devise safe methods of working in relation to vehicles and pedestrians, and ensure they are implemented,” she added.

“Construction site vehicle incidents can and should be prevented by the effective management of transport operations throughout the construction process. Companies should be aware that HSE will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action against those that fall below the required standards.”